Guess how much Florida vacation home rentals contribute to the state economy?

Almost 28 billion.  Yes, that’s billion with a “b.” That’s almost 20% of the state tourism industry, according to a new report by the University of Central Florida’s Rosen College of Hospitality Management.

In 2018, more than one in 10 tourists stayed in a vacation-rental home.

“Floridians have long-known that the state’s vacation rental industry has a significant impact on our economy, but the numbers in this report are simply staggering,” says Florida Realtors president Barry Grooms, a Realtor and co-owner of Sarabay Suncoast Realty Inc. in Bradenton. “More than $27 billion a year is a substantial contribution to our economy, and the 115,000 jobs it supports are critical to the well-being of many of our communities.”

Florida’s tourism industry is growing faster than the U.S. economy.  The state has experienced 8 consecutive years of record-breaking visitation numbers, however there is a discrepancy between the occupancy rates of hotels and motels and the number of visitors. This indicates that tourists are seeking alternative forms of lodging and often choose vacation rental homes (defined as short-term rentals for less than 30 days at a time.)

A big factor in the increase in vacation rental homes is due to the increasing popularity of companies like Airbnb and VRBO. According to Airbnb, South Florida Airbnb homes hosted 1.47 million guests in 2018 and made $315 million. There are now more than 45,000 homes offered through Airbnb, with an average income of $6,500. Additionally, Airbnb states it is seeing a rise in demand at the same time hotels are seeing an increase in occupancy and growth.

The South Florida tri-county area, Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade, represents 38% of the income in 2018, with the top 3 reasons for travel being vacation, beach or water activities, and visiting friends and family. According to the survey done the University of Central Florida, visitors prefer homes rather than hotels because of price and value, location, and privacy and freedom.

If investing in Florida real estate is a consideration, owning a vacation home might be a good option. Contact us at info@premierlistings.com or call 844-521-SOLD.

Sources:

https://therealdeal.com/miami/2019/01/15/south-florida-airbnb-hosts-made-315-million-in-2018/
https://www.floridarealtors.org/news-media/news-articles/2020/02/flas-vacation-home-rentals-contribute-274b-economy
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/dickpope-pubs/80/
https://hospitality.ucf.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/FINAL-2-10-20-Vacation-Rental-press-release-1-1.pdf